Nearly 10 out of every 1,000 children do not survive their first year of life, making Mississippi one of the riskiest places to be born in the developed world.

28.7 percent of Mississippi children do not have consistent, dependable access to nutritious food at home. The high-poverty community eligibility provision has extended school meals to thousands more Mississippi students, but hundreds of eligible schools still have not signed up.

Mississippi’s rejection of Medicaid expansion means that hundreds of thousands will remain without insurance — and healthcare providers will be forced to pick up the tab.

In the state that ranks at the bottom for almost every health outcome, the Mississippi Healthy Students Act has been hailed as a big step forward in the battle against childhood obesity and chronic disease. But its success has masked growing racial disparities.

By selling health insurance at the state level, places like Mississippi have fewer options and higher costs.

More than 20 percent of Mississippians -- and nearly 30 percent of children -- do not have consistent access to nutritious food. The latest cuts to food assistance programs are a step in the wrong direction.